HUNDREDS of children at a York primary school have taken part in a sporting afternoon in memory of a sports-crazy pupil who died of a brain tumour.

York City goalkeeper Michael Ingham launched Get Active For Oscar yesterday afternoon at Dunnington Primary School, the school attended by footballer and tennis player Oscar Hughes until his death last year, aged nine.

The fun afternoon was an opportunity for the whole school to experience eight different sports, including hockey, football, tennis, rugby and a fitness bootcamp, and it is set to become an annual event.

Lucie Rowntree, the teacher who organised the event, said local businesses and sport companies had shown their support by sending along coaches, including York City, Premier Sport and David Lloyd.

She said: “As a school we wanted to keep Oscar’s memory alive, and an afternoon of fun and sports seemed the most fitting way to do it.

“We’re very happy to be able to continue to show our support to Oscar’s family and to the charity, and we know the children will have lots of fun trying out all the different sports.”

Oscar’s mother Marie said: “Oscar would have loved this afternoon and all the different sports, and we can’t express our thanks to the school enough for organising this.

“It’s a wonderful and very fitting way for the children to remember Oscar by, and a great way to continue to raise awareness of brain tumours in children as we continue our fight for more research.”

Michael Ingham said he was delighted to throw his support behind the day. He said he had just become a father for the first time, with the birth of a baby daughter Indie, and this had brought home to him the tragedy of what had happened to Oscar.